The Lady Programmer

A few posts ago, I have shared you how I saved a lot by withdrawing from Paypal to Unionbank EON to Smart Money. Some asked me on how this procedure goes. Since mobile banking is not a feature that majority of the Filipinos would have on their mobile phones, the setup procedure is quite manual since it always almost needs the aid of the customer service to properly setup these accounts.

One has to exercise a great deal of patience in getting their accounts enabled for mobile banking. In the long run, this setup has saved me several hundreds of pesos.

Activate Smart Mobile Banking for Unionbank EON Account

me and my card

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To those Filipinos who are taking out cash from Paypal to any Philippine bank account, I hope you find this tip useful. I’ve actually been saving a lot from doing Paypal to Smart Money transfer. The only amount I have to pay is at least P2.50.

In case you are not aware of Smart Money, it is the blue ATM card that Smart Buddy subscribers can avail. Getting cash this way is secured: even if I get to lose either the cellphone or if the Smart Money card gets lost, a PIN is required first before those funds are accessed. Separate PIN numbers are issued for the cellphone and the Smart Money card.

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This is one of the questions that is often asked by those who are new to withdrawing funds from Paypal. Both are effective ways to take out those funds, but one of them is better.

“Withdraw to card” versus “withdraw to bank” Paypal options

I never tried the “withdraw to card” option given by Paypal, although I’ve seen a lot of others who were able to do that successfully. But I always notice that this method is always more expensive and takes more time to get into one’s account. One needs to pay $5 for every “withdraw to card” option in Paypal and it takes a longer time to get those funds in (I usually see people getting those funds 5 to 7 days). I blame Unionbank for publishing this instruction in their website:

I’ve always wondered why Unionbank had instructed people to use the “withdraw to card” option. At countless times, I had always used “withdraw to bank” option which is always cheaper and faster. I always get those funds in the bank account in just three business days (based on US holidays). So far, I never got problems with that.

How cheap does “withdraw to bank” option go? The fees are listed at the right hand column.

This option does not only work on Unionbank EON bank accounts but to any other Philippine bank accounts as well. I still prefer having those funds into my Unionbank EON bank account because I don’t get any incoming fund charges – I get the full amount out from Paypal.

Here’s to illustrate one successful withdrawal I had last year for a small amount. I only got a P50 deduction out from Paypal.

Funds come into my Unionbank EON account in just 3 days without any extra charges.

Don’t have a Paypal account yet? Click the logo below to sign up for a FREE Paypal account.

When I decided to find more freelance sites, I find it a requirement to maintain a Paypal account to collect the earnings from several different sites. The great thing about Paypal unlike before is that it could get earnings directly to any Philippine bank account through electronic funds transfer. (The banner below should help you sign up with a new account.)

Some new users are confused with which Paypal account to use. Paypal offers three types of accounts: personal, premium and business accounts. I own a personal and a premium account – this is allowed by Paypal as stated in their terms of service.

The Difference

Paypal personal account is the one to use when simply collecting earnings from freelance sites. It can also be used for online purchases too. There are so many merchants that accept Paypal payments. Receiving funds from other Paypal accounts (Paypal balance, instant transfer and eCheck) are free. It is possible to receive funds from credit or debit cards for a limited number of transactions. Withdrawal limits for these accounts are limited too.

Paypal premium and business accounts are made for those who do businesses such as those in eBay. This is probably why Paypal charges less for receiving funds from debit and credit cards. Unlike Paypal personal accounts, these accounts accept an unlimited number of payments from these cards.

Collect Payments Using Paypal Personal Accounts

I would highly recommend using a Paypal personal account when simply taking off earnings from several freelance sites. If you are into mass payments and selling transactions then simply use another Paypal premium or business account.

Share your experience with Paypal!

Even though I prefer to use the Payoneer card for purchase, I find so many Filipinos asking around how to save more on Payoneer withdrawals. I did not want to get the “insufficient funds” message seen whenever I decide to take some funds out, so I decided to fix some amount left in the Payoneer account: I highly recommend leaving around P500 in the account instead of getting the whole amount out.

However, ATM machines are different. There are some machines that allow a higher withdrawal limit than the others. I’ve discovered that the limit imposed on machines is not dependent on the bank or the location of the machine. For instance, I found few BPI ATMs which allow a lower withdrawal limit while the rest of their bunch allow higher withdrawals.

Here is what I have to say about getting more from each cash withdrawal from the Payoneer card:

• Determine which ATM machines allow higher withdrawal limits, if you plan to withdraw higher amounts exceeding P4,000. Some say the withdrawal limit has to do with the bank, I’ve also heard others that the limit has something to do with the location of the ATM. However, it really pays to ask the bank personnel or the guard-in-charge on which ATM machines allow higher withdrawals. The limits are often dependent on the model of ATM machine installed in the area.




• Do a balance inquiry first. Balance inquiry is always free and it is often helpful to determine the amount of money in Pesos that is funded in the account.




• Choose SAVINGS over current account option when doing balance inquiry or withdrawals. You’ll still get slapped with $0.90 charge when you choose the incorrect option.




• Leave P500 in your Payoneer account. Do a quick mental computation after a balance inquiry. You cannot withdraw everything in your account. Despite having a $2.15 withdrawal charge that Payoneer takes away, leaving P100 or even up to P300 will still give you “insufficient funds” error with each withdrawal.




• You can still use the P500 amount left in the card to pay for purchases in department stores, supermarkets and other stores as long as these merchants accept Mastercard payments.




• It is possible to pay the remaining balance of the card for a purchase that is worth more than the amount stored in the card. A card with P400 left can still be used to pay for a P600 item by telling the cashier to withdraw off funds from the card then add P200 more to pay for the purchase.




• The $3 maintenance fee can be reduced to $1 maintenance fee by having more than two Payoneer transactions in one month. Instead of doing a set of load and withdraw transactions in a single month, use the card to pay for some purchases too.